_ "dancing days were over."

CHAPTER SIXTY ONE.

AN EXTRA SKIN.

Our hunters did not remain at their bivouac longer than was absolutely
necessary to swallow a hasty meal. They had been warned of the
dangerous climate of the _Terai_, and hurrying on through it, reached
the more elevated hill region before night. Journeying on, they entered
the kingdom of Nepaul, among whose hills they expected to find the
Thibet bear (_ursus thibetanus_). This animal has been usually regarded
as a mere variety of the _ursus arctos_; but without the slightest
reason. It is an animal of more gentle habits, and exclusively a
vegetarian in its diet: in colour it is black, but having a white mark
on its breast shaped like a Y, the branches of the letter coming up in
front of its shoulders, while the limb extends between the fore legs and
halfway along the belly. The claws of the animal are small and weak;
and its profile forms almost a straight line, thus essentially differing
from the _ursus arctos_. It is also a much smaller animal--rarely
attaining to more than half the size of the latter species, and scarce
bigger than the _ursus malayanus_, to which it bears a far greater
resemblance. It is found in the mountains of Sylhet, and throughout
that portion of the Himalayas enclosed within the great bend of the
Brahmapootra, in Thibet, whence it derives its specific appellation. It
is equally an inhabitant of the hill-country of Nepaul; and there our
hunters proceeded in search of their specimen. By the help of a
"Ghoorka" guide, which they had hired, they were not long in finding
one; but as there was no curious or particular incident connected with
its capture, the journal of Alexis is silent upon the affair: it is only
recorded that the animal was started from a thicket of _rhododendron_
bushes, and shot down while endeavouring to make its escape.

Having settled their business with the Thibet bear, our hunters might
have also procured another species within the territory of Nepaul--that
is, the brown, or Isabella bear (_ursus isabellinus_). This they could
have found by ascending to the higher ranges of the great snowy
mountains that overlook Nepaul; but as they knew they should also
encounter this species near the sources of the Ganges, and as they were
desirous of visiting that remarkable locality, they continued on
westward through Nepaul and Delhi, arriving at the health station of
Mussoorie, in the beautiful valley o